Grizzlies girls come up short

Friday

WINSTON-SALEM - With a first-year program, Oak Grove expects to measure its progress over the course of an entire season.

But girls coach Sissy Rausch liked what she saw Friday night.

Three days after an ugly season-opening loss at Atkins, the Grizzlies gave Trinity all it wanted before dropping a 49-41 nonconference game in Midway. Oak Grove actually trailed 31-11 at the half, which was already an upgrade over Tuesday’s 64-9 loss at Atkins. But the Grizzlies found their groove in the second half and actually got within 41-38 with three minutes left. But Trinity went into a stall, then hit just enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Rausch felt much better as she headed to the locker room after Friday’s loss. “Atkins is such a strong team, and that was just bad luck for us facing them the first game,” she said. “I couldn’t be more proud. I told these girls, it doesn’t matter what day it is, if they go out there playing to win and trying to outwork the other team, then I’m gonna walk out of here with a smile on my face.

“We had some key players step up. Logan Ruiz did some things she hadn’t done before, really showed some aggressiveness and established herself in the paint. C.C. (Wooten), I think she had a double-double.”

Trinity seemed to be on the verge of blowing out the Grizzlies when they finished the first half on a 14-0 run, turning a narrow 17-11 lead into a comfortable margin at the break. Oak Grove clamped down on defense in the third quarter, but couldn’t get a whole lot going offensively and still trailed 39-23 heading to the fourth. But Ruiz ignited the Grizzlies with a putback, Delaney Smith knocked down a jumper, Wooten converted in the paint and Smith buried a clutch 3 from the left wing. Just like that, Oak Grove cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 41-35 with 4:20 to go. Then, Jordan Holt – who paced the home team with 17 points – knocked down a 3 of her own to get the home crowd rocking.

Caitlin Swiggett (15 points) steadied the ship for Trinity with a pair of free throws, and Bre Brown followed suit with two freebies. Holt turned a steal into a layup to get the Grizzlies within 45-40, but Oak Grove got no closer.